13 Reasons Why a Spiritual Resurrection in 70 AD Should Be Considered Over a Physical Resurrection

13 Reasons Why a Spiritual Resurrection in 70 AD Should Be Considered Over a Physical Resurrection

1. When did the Old Testament (OT) Saints leave Sheol/Hades to go to Heaven?

Surprisingly, many believe that the OT Saints went to Heaven at the Cross. This is not true. In Acts 2, we see that Christ the Greater David was the

ONLY person granted a physical resurrection AND ascension. The physical resurrection and ascension of Christ in 30AD pointed as well as confirmed the spiritual resurrection of the OT saints in 70 AD. King David was still in his grave, not Christ. See Acts 2:22-34. When Christ ascended to Heaven in Acts 1:9-11, He ascended ALONE. Later, in Acts 7:60, when Stephen was stoned to death, it says he fell ASLEEP. It says NOTHING about his spirit going up to Heaven with the Lord.  This is especially confirmed if you read Psalm 31 in its full context. Otherwise, you are imposing something foreign into the text. In Matthew 27:51-53, there were a number of dead saints who were physically resurrected. However, the text NEVER says they ascended to Heaven. I presume they were added as First Fruits (the 144,000-James 1:1;1 Peter 1:1) and died after Christ’s return in 70 AD (Matthew 16:28), which resulted in them going into Heaven.

2. The Fool’s Question in 1 Corinthians 15:35/The Pharisees’ Teachings.

More than likely, the Fool was exposed to the Pharisees teachings. In Acts 23:7-8, the Pharisees confirmed their beliefs about the physical resurrection, angels, and spirits. If it was so obvious that the resurrection was going to be physical, why would the Fool raise the question in the first place?! Also, Jesus spent most of his earthly ministry correcting their erroneous traditions based on scripture (not scripture itself). If the majority, if not all of the Pharisees’ teachings were wrong, why should we believe their beliefs in a physical resurrection?!

3. The Pharisees Upbringing and Culture

The Pharisees were raised and conditioned all their life to learn about the scriptures/prophecies of the Messiah. Yet, they missed/willfully denied the 1st coming of Jesus Christ.

Likewise, the Reformers and us-modern day Christians are farther removed from the Jewish culture. Yet, we have missed/ some have willfully deny the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ in 70AD. In fear, confusion, and possibly laziness, we cling to our Pastor’s traditional interpretation of the Church Fathers/Rabbis/and faith in Technology (TV/Computers) as a security blanket. For them, this cannot be true. Because of this, can we really say we are any more different than the Pharisees-especially with our technological savviness?! Our ignorance is inexcusable.

4. Job 19:25-26 

The first problem is that the KJV added “worms” to the text. It is not in the original manuscripts-translator bias. Second, the seeing God does not come “IN” the flesh, but “FROM” the flesh. Job is not saying he is confident that he will have his flesh body again to see God. What he is really saying is that EVEN if his body is destroyed he will STILL see God.

Commentaries from Neil & Deilitsch, Gesenius, Barnes, and Luther are in agreement with my view.

5. Daniel 12:1-2 and John 5:28-29

There is no mention about the reconstruction of physical bodies or their coming out of the graves. A soul can easily come out of a grave as well.

6. Isaiah 26:19

There are two different translations to this text. The KJV, NJV, and Septuagint says “Your dead shall live; together with my dead body” while other texts say “ Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.” Either way, the Matthew 27:51-53 saints (The First Fruits of the 144,000 Harvest) mentioned earlier did rise out of their graves as a physical sign of a later spiritual reality (70AD).

7. Ezekiel 37:1-28

We need to be careful not to isolate this passage and claim it teaches a physical resurrection. In context, the dry bones imagery is used to describe the restoration of the Covenant people at the end of their judgment and Babylonian exile. Outside of Jerusalem, they were a dead nation with no hope. Likewise, when compared to John 10, we can see very similar language about Christ gathering his people as The Good Shepherd-The Greater David to a greater restoration. During Pentecost, we can see the fulfillment of the Holy Spirit breathing back life into the dead bodies of the Apostles and various people groups. This creation process reminds us about Genesis.

 

8. The Futurist interpretation creates a contradiction between 2 Corinthians 5:8, 1 Corinthians 15:35-57, and Hebrew 11:13.

Second Corinthians 5:8 is the infamous “To be Absent from the Body is to be Present with the Lord” verse. This is a prolipsis to 70 AD, but many believers treat this as regular principle/mantra. Today, Futurist believers will say when we die, we go to Heaven with NO GLORIFIED BODY.  ALL dead Christians have to wait till the End of History to receive their Glorified Bodies at the final resurrection. Based on their interpretation, that statement would be correct for Hebrews 11:13, the dead are in Heaven with no Glorified Body. They also did NOT receive any of their heavenly promises or the New Jerusalem, which doesn’t make sense since it is a Heavenly City (Hebrews 11:16-17). How do you be in Heaven and not inherit a Heavenly City?!

Now, with 1 Corinthians 15:35-57, you are either in the image of Adam (The Man of the Land) or in the image of Christ (The Man of Heaven). To be in the image of Christ, you would have to be in Heaven WITH A GLORIFIED BODY IN POSSESSION OF THE NEW COVT PROMISES.  The text leaves no wiggle room to say otherwise. You can NOT bear the image of Adam in Heaven. Flesh and blood (the image of Adam) cannot inherit the Kingdom of God/New Jerusalem and its promises. Also, a disembodied spirit (the image of Adam) cannot inherit the Kingdom of God/New Jerusalem and its promises. If we are still in the image of Adam, and waiting for our Glorified Body, we cannot give the final declaration of victory that is stated in 1 Corinthians 15:55 (my paraphrase) “Death swallowed up in victory, O Death, where is your sting….”

9. Christ is the First of a Different Kind of Resurrection in Acts 26:23.

Futurist believers would use word games to pivot around this issue. They would say that Jesus only resuscitated dead people in the NT, not resurrected them. The Greek word to resuscitate or revive is anathallo. Another word that can be considered for their case is refresh-anapsycho/anapsyxis. None of these words are used when Jesus brought people back from the dead. Jesus brought the following people back to life: The daughter of Jairus (Mark 5:21-43, Matthew 9:18-26, Luke 8:40-56), Son of the Widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-17), Lazarus (John 11:1-44), and the dead saints (Matthew 27:51-53). Also, don’t forget the three resurrections in the OT (1 Kings 17:17-24, 2 Kings 4:32-37, 2 Kings 13:21). Another thing to consider is that Hebrews 11:35 acknowledge these previous events as RESURRECTIONS, NOT RESUSCITATIONS. Therefore, Jesus’ resurrection was of a different kind of resurrection, not like the ones previously mentioned. Contrary to popular opinion, Jesus didn’t not get his Glorified Body after the three days in the grave. It was the same physical body. The text never says he walked through locked doors and walls. He’s not a ghost since Thomas was able to touch the holes in his hands (Luke 24:36-42). Jesus could have teleported, unlocked the doors, slipped inside in a stealth manner or be unrecognized as in Luke 24:16. Also, before His death, Jesus done various miracles like walk on water (Matthew 14:22-33), slip through crowds (Luke 4:30-32) and healed blind people (John 9:6) in his regular physical body. Lastly, John the Apostle noticed the difference between Jesus’ body at the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13, Matthew 17:1-13, Luke 8:28-36) and at the Resurrection. If Jesus received His Glorified Body at the Resurrection, why would he tell his audience in 1 John 3:2 that we will resemble him in his likeness much later on? What would be the point of the Transfiguration event? They would have been transformed at the Cross or at the moment of conversion, which isn’t the case. See 1 Timothy 3:16, 1 Peter 1:9, 1:21, Hebrew 2:9, John 17:1,5, 2 2 Corinthians 8:3, John 1:14, 7:39, and Luke 24:26. After the Cross, Jesus appears differently to people in Acts 9:3 and Revelation 1:12-16. 

10. 2 Timothy 2:15-18:The Hymenaeus and Philetus Heresy (H&P)

The H&P Heresy is due to these men most likely attributing the resurrection of the end of the age (70AD) to the resurrection of the Firstfruits at the Cross (30AD). See Matthew 27:51-53.   This was deceptive for many reasons. First, this Heresy denied the 70AD  resurrection at the end of the age.   Second, this caused the Gentile Church to be bound by the Law. The Old Covenant Law was not done away with until 70AD, so seeing the Herodian Temple still standing made them believe that they would always be enslaved to their religious ordinances.   This was discouraging to the Gentiles and it caused division within the Church. It's safe to say that these false teachers claimed that  the New Heavens and the New Earth happened at the Cross of Jesus, which is wrong.  This can be possibly linked to the other false teachings in scripture with people withholding sex from their spouses to appear holy before God (1 Corinthians 7), abandoning marriages with non-believers, and prohibiting marriages (1 Timothy 4). Remember, at the resurrection in Heaven nobody is supposed to be married, so it is easy to see how this can be twisted into a false doctrine.   Third, it denied the 70AD wrath of God being poured out on Apostate Jerusalem/ the events of the abomination of desolation. This Heresy discredited both Jesus and Paul. It was a huge threat to the Church. Lastly, notice in Verse 18, SOME, NOT ALL were upset. This is important because if this was a physical resurrection, H&P could easily be proven wrong by checking a dead person’s gravesite. If the body was still there, H&P was wrong. Not everyone fell for this lie.  In this case, you can only deceive someone if the resurrection was spiritual.

11. Confusion over Jesus words

In 1 Corinthians 15:46, scripture states that the physical is FIRST THEN the spiritual. This principle is generally true across the board especially regarding the transition between the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. Many believers tend to violate this principle in various ways. Jesus didn’t go back on his words. He is not Author of Confusion.  Do “we live by sight, and not by faith?”  It is still true today. Some believers are waiting for a Third Physical Temple System. Below are some of the common ways how different people misinterpret Jesus’ spiritual realities into physical fulfillments.

Nicodemus (John 3)-Confused spiritual birth with physical birth. 

Woman of the Well (John 4)-Confused spiritual water with regular water.

Communion Event (John 6:51-53, 60)- Confused cannibalism with symbolic eating and drinking of Christ.

Kingdom of Heaven: Not of this World (John 18:26, Luke 18:36)-Confused a physical, earthly kingdom with a heavenly, spiritual kingdom.

The Leaven of the Pharisees (Matthew 16:6-7)-Confused missing bread for the cancerous teachings of the Pharisees. 

12. Spiritual Covenant Death vs Physical Death

Christ came to fix what Adam broke. Christ never promised ANYWHERE in the Gospels that he would deliver His people from physical death. God kept his promise that Adam would die spiritually that day. Should we think that Satan is more credible and honest than God now? If physical death was the real problem, then Christ failed in his mission because we still die today. The Skeptic would then say what about Revelation 21:4? That passage applies to the resurrected saints that go to Heaven in Revelation 20. They will never die again. There are no chapter breaks in the original scrolls. Jesus said in John 11:25-26, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”. Jesus is not changing his words on us.

13. Better Promises in Hebrews

The phrases below in Hebrews focus on the Spiritual Nature of the New Covenant. As a result, the BETTER RESURRECTION has to be spiritual in order to be consistent with the rest of the New Covenant.

Hebrews 7:22:The New Covenant is a better covenant. Not on physical identity, but on spiritual identity.

Hebrews 8:6: Better Promises. Not an emphasis on material blessings, but on spiritual blessings. 

Hebrews 10:34: A Better Possession. An abiding one.

Hebrews 11:16: The New Covenant has a better country. A heavenly city,

not a literal city.

Hebrews 12:24: The New Covenant speaks of a better Spiritual word. Not the Letter of the Law.

Hebrews 11:35-36: A Better Resurrection. This cannot be a physical resurrection since the rest of the list is spiritual.